Why Men Shouldn’t Need Their Own “-ism”

In the past few months, a seemingly odd “revolution” has found its place on different social media platforms (the largest being on Twitter and Tumblr). Some may know it as Meninism or Menimism, but the one thing that many can take away from this odd movement is the fact that meninism isn’t as progressive as it seems.

To put it simply, meninism attempts promote and advocate male rights and equality between genders. This might seem innocent and progressive in theory, but in reality, it’s not. They try to promote this equality through the means of uncovering double standards between men and women and how men are under more oppression than females in this modern world. However, the reason as to why men don’t necessarily need their own “-ism” is the fact that there’s already a movement/ideology that advocates the equality of genders, feminism. As meninism continued to progress, their claims became more and more critical and for some, it became a platform to criticize and make a satire out of feminist ideas. In the end, it can be said that it ultimately became a way to bash feminists and what they ultimately stand for.

In the most basic of interpretations, both meninism and feminism focus on the idea of equality. However feminism is more relevant as to where we are today, whereas meninism doesn’t necessarily have as much of a global significance. Unlike what many think, feminism as a whole doesn’t promote misandry, however this doesn’t mean that there aren’t some who might be say certain misandrist things. However, these few radical feminists don’t represent what feminism actually is. Feminism is here to advocate the lack of women’s rights on a political, economic, and social scale, and push to give them equal rights to that of men today. Feminism is here to promote the ideology that both genders need to have equal rights, whereas meninism isn’t necessarily fighting for their rights aside from the apparently oppressive double standards society places on men.

Feminism aims to tackle the barriers that have been placed against women in society, and their ultimate goal is to have equal rights to men. Through feminism, people fought for the right for women to vote, be educated, own land, and more. Today, many focus on trying to lower the sexual objectification of women (as of 2013, the UN concluded that 35% of women experienced physical/sexual abuse in their lifetime), eradication of misogyny, and imbalance of gender roles that are apparent in many places around the world. Having said that, meninists try and argue that men are oppressed and are subject to problems that women don’t need to face, which to an extent can be considered the truth. Some of these include men being ridiculed for showing emotions, being forced to fit into the “perfect man” mold, and more. That being said, double standards do exist in society, and they should ultimately be reevaluated, and many feminists try to tackle these as well. It should be noted that men being shunned for showing emotion points to the fact that it implies weakness, and that since women are allowed to show emotion, they are inherently weaker than men. Feminists today have put their focus on breaking societal norms placed on women and men to achieve equality. Yet many still point out the controversial statements of some, or the ideas that “women are free and it’s the 21st century so feminism isn’t an issue anymore”, and make it out to be something negative, which it shouldn’t be.

Meninism is fighting for the apparent liberation of men, which also implies that men have been oppressed of their own rights and need to be liberated. This doesn’t necessarily make the most sense considering the fact that women have been through much worse oppression in history than teenage males being “friendzoned” and feeling offended by a crush having their own preferences in a partner. Altogether, meninism might have good intentions at its core, but what it has ultimately become does nothing to help further equality in today’s world. Taking something as serious as the rights of women and reducing those who support these movements as jokes has no place in society, especially on a global scale. In the end, the inequality between women and men will be an issue that can’t be solved until the wage gap is successfully closed, the objectification of women is out the window, and all humans gain equal opportunities and rights around the world. Meninists have nothing on the core beliefs of what feminists are trying to achieve, and whether you identify as a feminist or not, the equality between genders is a necessary step in the progression of humanity.

you say Feminists also try to help both genders equally, yet I see barely any feminists going against the rape of men, I don’t see any feminists trying to open a shelter for men who have been victims of rape and abuse. Modern Day Feminism is a joke, it’s not what it used to be. And the wage gap? it’s nothing but a myth feminists came up with. Women tend to earn lower compared to men because they are more likely to go into lower paying jobs.

Dahnbee Kim

Or you only choose what you want to see. If you weren’t so stuck on the shallow parts of “modern day feminism” you would see that it is not truly feminism, but only people with a lack of understanding of what feminism actually is. You actually prove it yourself with your last quote in your article, Why Modern Day Feminism Is a Joke. You wrote, “No doubt, there are actual feminist movements out there that are doing good and helping both genders attain equal rights, but their efforts are going unnoticed because of the stupidity of a few feminists.” You choose to be blinded by, like what you said “a few feminists”. Feminism is on the rise like many other issues in our day and age, and when people cannot adjust to change they get defensive and try to protect what they think is right. You cannot categorize a whole movement just from a side of it that is more public and has less understanding of what the core of it actually is. If you actually did some research you would find that many feminists and people support ALL victims of rape and abuse. And because you brought it up, women may tend to go into lower paying jobs but if you search on Google you would see this quote,”Some of that wage gap is the result of women being more likely to work in certain industries or occupations, but about 40 percent of the difference in men’s and women’s wages cannot be explained by any measurable factor.” Now what is this measurable factor that cannot be explained? You’re smart enough. You can figure it out.

Also, before saying modern day feminism is a joke, you should do some research first and check your facts because modern day feminism is still feminism.